April
21
Events
753
BC – Romulus and Remus founded Rome (traditional
date).
43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated
in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony
fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is murdered
shortly after.
900 – The Laguna Copperplate Inscription: the Honourable
Namwaran and his children, Lady Angkatan and Bukah,
are granted pardon from all their debts by the Commander
in chief of Tundun, as represented by the Honourable
Jayadewa, Lord Minister of Pailah. Luzon, Philippines.
1509 – Henry VIII ascends the throne of England
on the death of his father, Henry VII.
1792 – Tiradentes, a revolutionary leading a movement
for Brazil's independence, is hanged, drawn and
quartered.
1809 – Two Austrian army corps are driven from Landshut
by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon I
of France as two French corps to the north hold
off the main Austrian army on the first day of the
Battle of Eckmühl.
1836 – Texas Revolution: The Battle of San Jacinto
– Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat
troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa
Anna.
1863 – Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith,
declares his mission as "He whom God shall
make manifest".
1894 – Norway formally adopts the Krag-Jørgensen
rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon
that would remain in service for almost 50 years.
1918 – World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von
Richthofen, known as "The Red Baron",
is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme in France.
1922 – The first Aggie Muster is held as a remembrance
for fellow Texas A&M graduates who had died
in the previous year.
1934 – The "Surgeon's Photograph", the
most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness
Monster, is published in the Daily Mail (in 1999,
it is revealed to be a hoax).
1941 – Emmanouil Tsouderos becomes the 132nd Prime
Minister of Greece.
1942 – World War II: The most famous (and first
international) Aggie Muster is held on the Philippine
island of Corregidor, by Brigadier General George
F. Moore (with 25 fellow Texas A&M graduates
who are under his command), while 1.8 million pounds
of shells pounded the island over a 5 hour attack.
1945 – World War II: Soviet Union forces south of
Berlin at Zossen attack the German High Command
headquarters.
1952 – Secretary's Day (now Administrative Professionals'
Day) is first celebrated.
1960 – Brasília, Brazil's capital, is officially
inaugurated. At 9:30 am the Three Powers of the
Republic are simultaneously transferred from the
old capital, Rio de Janeiro.
1960 – Founding of the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith in
Washington, D.C.
1962 – The Seattle World's Fair (Century 21 Exposition)
opens. It is the first World's Fair in the United
States since World War II.
1963 – The Universal House of Justice of the Bahá'í
Faith is elected for the first time.
1964 – A Transit-5bn satellite fails to reach orbit
after launch; as it re-enters the atmosphere, 2.1
pounds (0.95 kg) of radioactive plutonium in its
SNAP RTG power source is widely dispersed.
1965 – The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair opens
for its second and final season.
1966 – Rastafari movement: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia
visits Jamaica, an event now celebrated as Grounation
Day.
1967 – Greek military junta of 1967–1974: A few
days before the general election in Greece, Colonel
George Papadopoulos leads a coup d'état, establishing
a military regime that lasts for seven years.
1970 – The Hutt River Province Principality secedes
from Australia.
1975 – Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyen
Van Thieu flees Saigon, as Xuan Loc, the last South
Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese
assault on Saigon, falls.
1982 – Baseball: Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee
Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300
saves.
1987 – The Tamil Tigers are blamed for a car bomb
that explodes in the Sri Lankan city of Colombo,
killing 106 people.
1989 – Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989: In Beijing,
around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square
to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang.
1993 – The Supreme Court in La Paz, Bolivia, sentences
former dictator Luis Garcia Meza to 30 years in
jail without parole for murder, theft, fraud and
violating the constitution.
1994 – The first discoveries of extrasolar planets
are announced by astronomer Alexander Wolszczan.
2004 – Five suicide car bombers target police stations
in and around Basra, killing 74 people and wounding
160.
Holidays
and observances
Aggie
Muster (Texas A&M University)
Birthday of Rome (Rome)
Christian Feast Day:
Abdecalas
Anastasius Sinaita
Anselm of Canterbury
Beuno
Conrad of Parzham
Holy Infant of Good Health
Shemon Bar Sabbae
Wolbodo
April 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Grounation Day (Rastafari movement)
Heroic Defense of Veracruz (Mexico)
Inauguration of Brasília (Distrito Federal, Brazil)
Kartini Day (Indonesia)
National Tree Planting Day (Kenya)
Parilia, in honor of the Pales. (Roman Empire)
San Jacinto Day (Texas)
The first day of the festival of Ridván. (Bahá'í
Faith)
Tiradentes (Brazil)
For details, contact Datacentre
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